Epiphany, 2021 - Those Who Walk in Darkness

 This week brings us to the celebration of Epiphany (Jan. 6). The word epiphany carries the idea of light shining upon (Greek: upon + shining). Isaiah captured the image: 

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in the land of deep darkness - on them light has shined (Isaiah 9:2).

The traditional gospel reading for Epiphany is the story of the magi, Matthew 2:1-12. The magi from the East represent the Gentiles - those who live in darkness. They do not know God or the ways of God. Guided by the star, the magi discovered the Christ child - the great light by which all see God and the ways of God. The story of the magi is Matthew's version of the Isaiah 9:2 text. The star which the magi followed led them out of darkness into an even greater light. Matthew's story proclaims the gospel: now, in Jesus, all people - Jew and Gentile - can know God and the ways of God. Now, all of us can walk in the light. 

What does living in darkness look like? What does it mean to not know God or the ways of God? 

We find an answer to our questions in the other key figure in the magi story: Herod. The magi, looking for the newborn king of the Jews, naturally went to the royal palace and to Herod, the current king. Their assumption was the newborn king was Herod's child and heir. Herod's reaction to the news of a newborn king helps us see the face of darkness. Herod is a portrait of living in darkness. 

Herod reacted to the magi's news with fear. He was threatened by the birth of a helpless child. When we walk in darkness, we live out of fear. Anxiety underlies and drives what we do. 

Herod sought to deceive the magi, pretending he too wanted to honor the child who was to be king. When we walk in darkness, pretense and deception are a recurring pattern in our relationships, displacing openness and honesty. We manipulate others for our own agendas. 

Herod's intent was to discover the child so he could kill him. He wanted to eliminate any threat to his throne. (The child was not the first Herod killed. His paranoia had already led him to kill a wife and two sons.) When we walk in darkness, we do not know how to be content with what we have or grateful for it. We live out of an unrecognized fear that we are missing out, that our lives would be so much better if ... We live with an insatiable desire for more, believing that the life we are missing is out there, in something more than we have. Like Herod, we don't want "those other people" to have what we have as though they will take away what is ours.   

When Herod realized the magi had tricked him, leaving town without communicating with him, he gave the order to kill all the children under the age of two in Bethlehem and the surrounding area. He used his power and his position to destroy the lives of others. When we walk in darkness, we use our power against others for our own advantage. We contribute to the pain of others. 

Herod's darkness was lived out through his political role. He enjoyed the privilege of being king in a hierarchical system along with the wealth, prestige, and power that went with the position. Those at the bottom of the hierarchy were excluded from and had no access to the kind of power and wealth he enjoyed. Herod used his position and power against them in order to hold onto what he had. When we walk in darkness, our political positions protect our interests with little or no regard for the powerless and most vulnerable. 

Just describing walking in darkness feels dark and oppressive.

Epiphany proclaims good news: light shines in the darkness. And that light is for all people. More good news: the power of the light is greater than the power of darkness. As John's gospel says, "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it" (John 1:5). We do not have to walk in darkness! We can walk in the light! The Spirit transforms our hearts and minds, empowering us to walk in the light!

When we walk in the light, ...

• we move beyond the power of fear and anxiety to live out of an inner disposition marked by joy and peace;
• our relationships are governed by openness and honesty - being straightforward takes the place of being manipulative;
• we live with contentment, being grateful for what we have, embracing all it has to offer;
• we live out of a servant spirit, using our power - in all its many forms - to bless and empower others;
• we become advocates for and partners with the powerless and most vulnerable in our world, in keeping with the nature of God and the preaching of the Hebrew prophets.

Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12). 

As this week brings us to the celebration of Epiphany, may we walk in the light!